Questions Arise from Article

[JudgeNot]

In the news…

LAW OF THE LAND
Court OKs son's shielding from 'gay' lifestyle
Divorced homosexual father cannot expose child to his lovers

Posted: January 10, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

A state appeals court ruled a homosexual father cannot flaunt his lifestyle around his son.
As part of a divorce hearing, a Tennessee lower-court judge had barred Joe Hogue, a producer in the Christian music industry, from ''taking the child around or otherwise exposing the child to his gay lover(s) and/or his gay lifestyle," the Nashville Tennessean reported.
The state Court of Appeals said, however, the judge was wrong to jail Hogue on a contempt-of-court charge for telling his son, then 9, he was homosexual.
But in a seven-page decision, Judge Frank Clement Jr. said the panel found nothing wrong with the lower court's decision to shield the child from his father's lifestyle, according to the Nashville paper.
Hogue's wife, Cher Lynn Hogue, filed for divorce in February 2002, saying her husband had left home to pursue his new life as a homosexual. A divorce court agreed with her request to keep her son shielded and issued a restraining order. Hogue said her husband had allowed the child to be in the presence of a homosexual lover at his home and in church.
She filed a complaint asserting her husband told the child ''when someone is gay, they are born like that.''
The lower court sentenced Hogue to two days in jail in September 2002 for breaking the restraining order and also took away some of his visitation rights, the Tennessean said.
In the appeals court ruling, Clement argued the restraining order was not specific enough.
''We do not read the restraining order to prohibit a statement by the father that he is gay,'' Clement wrote. ''Thus, husband did not have notice that he was prohibited from telling his son he was gay and therefore cannot be held in contempt for doing so.''
Hogue said he felt it necessary to tell his son about his homosexuality because the boy was asking questions, confiding that others believed his soul would be damned, the Nashville daily reported.
He believes his divorce and public case about his homosexuality has harmed his career in the Christian music industry. Hogue has worked with contemporary artists such as DC Talk and Michael McDonald.
He said he is ''trying to be an honest guy, and I'm still a Christian and still listen to Christian music. It's hard for people to accept something they can't understand. They don't."
Living in the "belt buckle of the Bible Belt" is tough, he told the Tennessean.
"I used to eat lunch once a week with my son at school," recalled Hogue. "But everyone kind of hated me all of a sudden.''
He's taking on other projects, such as producing theme music for television, but says his heart remains in Christian music.
''I'm still doing some Christian work, but I would love to do more," he said, according to the paper. "But that is kind of an uphill battle. It's getting better than it used to be.''

I just though some of you may be interested – the article raises MANY points of discussion, including:

1. Should judges’ rulings include dictating “how to raise children”?
2. Is the man in the article really a Christian?
3. Does it make you wonder who is really singing the Christian music you listen to?
4. How can the judge’s ruling be enforced?
5. Can Christian morality be ‘ordered’ by a court?
6. What would you tell the man in the article if you had 5 minutes alone with him? (Careful now!)

[Psalm 119]

In the news…

LAW OF THE LAND
Court OKs son's shielding from 'gay' lifestyle
Divorced homosexual father cannot expose child to his lovers

Posted: January 10, 2004 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2004 WorldNetDaily.com

A state appeals court ruled a homosexual father cannot flaunt his lifestyle around his son.
As part of a divorce hearing, a Tennessee lower-court judge had barred Joe Hogue, a producer in the Christian music industry, from ''taking the child around or otherwise exposing the child to his gay lover(s) and/or his gay lifestyle," the Nashville Tennessean reported.
The state Court of Appeals said, however, the judge was wrong to jail Hogue on a contempt-of-court charge for telling his son, then 9, he was homosexual.
But in a seven-page decision, Judge Frank Clement Jr. said the panel found nothing wrong with the lower court's decision to shield the child from his father's lifestyle, according to the Nashville paper.
Hogue's wife, Cher Lynn Hogue, filed for divorce in February 2002, saying her husband had left home to pursue his new life as a homosexual. A divorce court agreed with her request to keep her son shielded and issued a restraining order. Hogue said her husband had allowed the child to be in the presence of a homosexual lover at his home and in church.
She filed a complaint asserting her husband told the child ''when someone is gay, they are born like that.''
The lower court sentenced Hogue to two days in jail in September 2002 for breaking the restraining order and also took away some of his visitation rights, the Tennessean said.
In the appeals court ruling, Clement argued the restraining order was not specific enough.
''We do not read the restraining order to prohibit a statement by the father that he is gay,'' Clement wrote. ''Thus, husband did not have notice that he was prohibited from telling his son he was gay and therefore cannot be held in contempt for doing so.''
Hogue said he felt it necessary to tell his son about his homosexuality because the boy was asking questions, confiding that others believed his soul would be damned, the Nashville daily reported.
He believes his divorce and public case about his homosexuality has harmed his career in the Christian music industry. Hogue has worked with contemporary artists such as DC Talk and Michael McDonald.
He said he is ''trying to be an honest guy, and I'm still a Christian and still listen to Christian music. It's hard for people to accept something they can't understand. They don't."
Living in the "belt buckle of the Bible Belt" is tough, he told the Tennessean.
"I used to eat lunch once a week with my son at school," recalled Hogue. "But everyone kind of hated me all of a sudden.''
He's taking on other projects, such as producing theme music for television, but says his heart remains in Christian music.
''I'm still doing some Christian work, but I would love to do more," he said, according to the paper. "But that is kind of an uphill battle. It's getting better than it used to be.''

I just though some of you may be interested – the article raises MANY points of discussion, including:

1. Should judges’ rulings include dictating “how to raise children”?
2. Is the man in the article really a Christian?
3. Does it make you wonder who is really singing the Christian music you listen to?
4. How can the judge’s ruling be enforced?
5. Can Christian morality be ‘ordered’ by a court?
6. What would you tell the man in the article if you had 5 minutes alone with him? (Careful now!)

1. Judges rule everyday how parents should raise their children.(although, they do not always make moral rulings) The child's welfare and saftey should be of the upmost importance. Having the child exposed to this man's lifestyle could have devastating consequences. ( I know of a pastor who caught his father with his male "lover" in bed when he was a young boy, it did devastate him.)

2. No, he's absolutely not a Christian. See Romans 1

3. Unfortunately, many in the Christian "entertainment" field do it for the same reasons the world does. They love the praise (and dollars) from men. There have been many scandals in the Christian music area for years. Michael English, Amy Grant, and Sandi Patti, were (are) in adulterous relationships. If these folks don't walk the walk, we houldn't be attending their concerts and buying their music.(on a side note, when Word Records was in Waco, Texas, I heard there was a real problem with immorality within it's ranks)

4. If this man breaks the judges court order, he can hold him in jail for contempt. And the judge has the discretion to hold him, and throw the key away (hey!that sound like a good idea!)

5. Yes, it can! When our nation was founded, our laws were based on the law of God (also found in Black's Law Book) and the Ten Commandments. The "Separation Clause" (which doesn't exist) has been the driving factor in removing God from the court room.

6. If I had five minutes with this "gentlemen", I would tell him that Satan has lied to him, and told him it was ok to be "gay". I would read all the Scriptures to him, that would advise him  if he continues in this "lifestyle" (deathstyle) that he will not enter the kingdom of God. I would beg him to repent.

[ebia]

1. Should judges’ rulings include dictating “how to raise children”?

No.  But who else is going to mediate in disputes like this between parents with conflicting views?  From the article, however, it looks like the court is biased towards the views of the mother, and that's out of order - the court should be impartial.

2. Is the man in the article really a Christian?

Nothing in the article indicates otherwise.

3. Does it make you wonder who is really singing the Christian music you listen to?

No

4. How can the judge’s ruling be enforced?

Not my problem

5. Can Christian morality be ‘ordered’ by a court?

No, and they shouldn't try.

6. What would you tell the man in the article if you had 5 minutes alone with him? (Careful now!)

Dunno.  I'd probably be more interested in listening to what he had to say.